Doing it for the love of the game
Nice Try will be a 100% free newsletter until I decide it's not
If you know me personally, you know that I have a history of vomiting my thoughts.
My first “newsletter” was a stapled print out. I just graduated elementary school. My main concerns were summer health:
And summer style:
Once I made it to middle school, I transitioned to red notebooks, which I aptly named “The Red Books.” They consisted of “in and out” lists, favorite songs, personality quizzes and friend personas (no wonder I became a marketing strategist). As middle school ASB president and resident zine creator, I adored the years most kids dreaded.
Later on I blogged about trying Airbnb(!) and Warby Parker(!) on Tumblr. How novel these experiences felt at the time.
I hate to say it but content creation about trying new things is in my veins. So is having delusional main character energy.
And that’s why you shouldn’t have to pay for this shit. I clearly do it for the love of the game. Just join me on this journey. Maybe you’ll learn something new along the way. Like which shades look good on you. Or a new type of sunscreen that doesn’t feel greasy. Or whatever the next Warby Parker is, once DTC evolves into Direct-To-(AI)Agent. I have ideas.
It’s been exactly three months since I started Nice Try. I had two goals in mind:
Have fun publishing until the honeymoon period ends
Learn how the Substack platform works, including paid subscription functionality
The second goal was for work. I never intended this to be a money making operation (and believe me, it’s not)1. And now that I have a couple months of learning, I’m turning off paid subscriptions. For those who felt compelled to sign up for a paid subscription, I will not forget you when I make it big! What does Big mean? I’m not sure, but you’ll be the first to know and the first to be thanked.
Writing is still fun so I’ll continue posting twice a week. Beyond shits and giggles, I’m also gaining a better understanding of what this newsletter is, who it’s for, and what I enjoy writing about. Watching something grow is itself addictive.
31 posts later I have enough data to conclude:
This newsletter is essentially a blog form of Product Hunt for millennial moms. The majority of my posts introduce you to various products (like this and this) along the analog-to-algorithm spectrum. A lot of new app discovery. But then also books and crafts. There’s some parenting things sprinkled in but it’s not a parenting newsletter. The things I gravitate towards are reflective of the life stage I’m in (e.g. time-savers, wrinkle removers, activities that could take place while the kids are napping, trying to stay relevant while in your thirties). It’s also a reflection of my profession in media and marketing. I’ve always been a little tech-curious. I’ve always been a little vain. And I can’t shut up! Maybe this is you too.
ChatGPT describes Nice Try as “Modern Vanity meets Smart Tech.” It continues to lay on the flattery: “There’s a high-low tension between vanity and intellect.” “Appealing to women who read The Cut and Wired.” I hope OpenAI never fixes its sycophancy issue.
I’m not surprised that I got here.
I’m glad you’re here too.
Analog-Vanity (Top Left)
Analog-Intellect (Bottom Left)
Algorithms-Vanity (Top Right) - my fav quad to write about
Algorithms-Intellect (Bottom Right)
Josh said this aside sounded very Trumpian